L.A. Times Covers Cyber Stalking Case (Part II)

November 21 marked Day 2 of Lori Drew's federal trial for cyberfraud in the tormenting of 13-year-old suicide victim Megan Meier, as reported by L.A. Times.

According to the article, Day 2 involved the cross examination of Megan's mother by defense lawyer Dean Steward and the initial testimony of Drew's accomplice in Megan's tormenting, 18-year-old Ashley Grills, who testified with government immunity. Lori Drew's hairdresser also took the stand, and her testimony about Drew's glee while mocking Megan was painful to read. Especially cringe-worthy was Drew's alleged reaction in 2006 when her hairdresser asked if she planned on attending Meier's wake-given her involvement in the hoax-to which Drew replied, "It's not like I pulled the Trigger." Wow, sounds to me like someone is filled with remorse and regret!

The L.A. Times recapped the events/evidence of the case in great detail, noting that Drew is accused of "violating federal law by providing false information to MySpace to set up the account, obtaining information about Megan in violation of MySpace rules, and then using the MySpace account to intentionally "inflict emotional distress" on the girl."

In Part I of my blog coverage of this cyber stalking case, I had some questions regarding jurisdiction, which have since been addressed-thanks to this article. Apparently, when authorities in Missouri concluded that there was no statute under which Drew could be charged, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien decided to indict Drew in Los Angeles on computer charges since MySpace is based in Beverly Hills, and his office could therefore obtain jurisdiction. So, in answer to my own question, MySpace seems to be off the hook as a responsible party.

Funny thing is, the jurisdiction debate may not be over. While under cross examination on November 21, Grills stated she thought she sent the final e-mail telling Megan that the world would be better off without her from an AOL instant messaging service, not MySpace. Drew's attorney thinks this revelation could be a blow to the government's claim of jurisdiction. I wonder what's going to happen now...